Cops: Woman offered to sell her baby

NEW ORLEANS -- A Mississippi woman has been arrested for allegedly offering to sell her infant son to another woman she met through an online classified ad.

Bobbie Jo Stojic, 23, of Bay St. Louis was freed on $5,000 bond after her Oct. 29 arrest on a felony charge of offering to sell a child, authorities said.

Stojic allegedly offered to sell her 4-month-old son for $5,000 in a text message that she sent last month to a woman from Kenner, La., who had answered her Craigslist ad for baby clothes, according to a court filing.

"They kind of formed somewhat of a friendship, a loosely based friendship, over text messages," said Hancock County Sheriff's Office Detective Brandon Normand.

Normand said the women had been discussing the costs associated with legally adopting a child before Stojic allegedly offered to sell her son in an Oct. 9 text message.

"That kind of planted the seed for Stojic to either sell her child or attempt to scam the woman in Louisiana out of something," Normand said. "She basically told her if you want him, you can have him for $5,000."

Normand said Stojic denied the allegations. A phone number for her that is listed on a court document wasn't in service Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear whether she has an attorney.

Stojic had mentioned in the text messages that she was having money problems and was in danger of being evicted from her home, according to Normand.

Normand said the Louisiana woman reported the allegations to the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which notified the sheriff's office and took custody of the child. A department spokeswoman declined to answer questions about the case, saying Tuesday that she could not comment on an open investigation.

A Mississippi law that took effect in July 2009 made it a crime to sell or buy a child or offer to buy or sell a child. A conviction is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.